A few hours later.
In a certain cabin section's infirmary room.
One person and one dog lay side by side on two hospital beds, both wrapped full of bandages, each with a leg in a heavy plaster cast hanging up.
Zeig lay on the hospital bed like a mummy, but his mouth couldn't stop. While eating fruit from the basket beside him, he watched TV.
"Peel those grapes for me." Zeig ordered.
March 7th: "..."
By the bedside, March 7th speechlessly picked up a bunch of grapes from the fruit basket, peeling them one by one to feed him.
"Heh~ ptoo!"
With a seed-spitting sound, a black dot suddenly appeared on March 7th's pretty face.
March 7th: "..."
The cool sensation of the grape seed made her blood pressure gradually rise.
"You. Are. Asking. For. It?" March 7th said gravely, word by word.
She took the grape seed off her face and fiercely threw it into the trash bin nearby.
Just as March 7th started scolding, a certain someone named Zeig slumped his body, his voice hoarse:
"I... I'm dying..."
"That's your own fault for causing trouble." March 7th unhappily continued peeling grapes, scolding as she peeled.
"Asta already said you're not allowed near Peppy, yet you were still shoulder-to-shoulder with it. If not punish you, who?"
Zeig raised a hand fully wrapped in bandages, refuting: "This is me showing care for my subordinates. General Peppy has rendered outstanding service—how could I watch it eat that boring stuff?"
March 7th puffed up her face and stuffed a grape into his mouth:
"Isn't it normal for dogs to eat dog food? The Sea King Rod you fed it—is something even humans don't eat, okay!"
Zeig said seriously: "But it eats it."
March 7th: "..."
On the hospital bed beside him, Peppy lay there with its plaster cast, staring blankly at the ceiling, eyes lifeless.
It murmured:
"Woof woof... (My life is over)"
Zeig turned his head to comfort:
"General Peppy, what meaning is there in a bland dog life? Even if it's fleeting like fireworks, at least we fought for freedom!"
March 7th frowned:
"Peppy isn't even wearing the translator helmet right now—how exactly are you communicating with it?"
Zeig: "I don't know either. Maybe my brainwaves are extraordinary."
March 7th: "A lunatic's brainwaves? Anyone who can understand is probably not normal anymore."
Zeig: "Maybe. Today I nearly lost a great general. Looks like future communications with General Peppy need to be more low-key."
Peppy: "Woof~ (Indeed it should be so)"
March 7th: "..."
In the entire infirmary room, besides the person and dog, there was no one else.
Outside the room, Arlan was following Asta's orders, guarding the line strictly—no way Zeig could take Peppy away to play cards again.
"Ah, Lord Aeon of Elation." Arlan bowed repeatedly upon seeing the visitor.
Aha waved his hand, "Don't bother with that for me. Where's that kid? Has your station master finished beating him?"
"Sh-she's done. Mr. Zeig woke up after the doctors' emergency treatment. He's lying inside with Peppy now, receiving follow-up care."
"Heh." Aha sneered coldly, hands behind his back as he walked toward the infirmary.
In his view, a pink-haired girl sat by the bed, her pink-blue eyes full of anger, yet helplessly serving the mummy on the bed with one plaster leg hanging up.
Aha's lips curved upward as he walked, mocking lightly:
"Yo ho, kid, you've got a tough life? Still gonna be naughty with your hands?"
Zeig said frankly:
"I have a clear conscience—everything I do is for justice!"
Aha gave a big thumbs up:
"Impressive, impressive."
He glanced at the dog also lying on the hospital bed beside, clicking his tongue in wonder.
"Damn, I wouldn't stoop to playing cards with a dog—and you still dare say your mental state is fine!"
March 7th nodded too:
"Who knows what he was thinking. If big sister Himeko hadn't told me to watch him, I'd have run long ago."
Aha clicked his tongue in praise:
"You're impressive too—your clothes are covered in so many spat seeds, and you can still hold back."
"Ah?" March 7th looked down.
She saw her clothes really had 1234567... about 12 black dots in sight, and immediately burned with anger.
She quickly grabbed a pillow and smashed it fiercely at the dead mummy on the bed, "Bang bang bang—!!"
"Damn Zeig, you're doing it on purpose, right! Are you blind?! Can't tell the trash bin from me?! Look how many you've spat on my clothes—damn, I think we should seal your mouth with plaster too!"
The mummy on the bed was smashed into muffled groans. He wanted to shout something, but under March 7th's storm-like fierce attacks, couldn't get it out.
Aha directly pulled over a chair and sat across from the bed.
He even somehow got a dining table, set the utensils, steak with red wine, and started eating on the spot.
Eating while watching.
Over ten minutes later.
The mummy crawled on the bed, trembling as he picked grape seeds one by one off March 7th's clothes.
One was too far to reach, and just as a certain someone was about to give up, he saw March 7th's murderous gaze from above.
Zeig: "..."
He tremblingly reached out, laboriously grabbing that grape seed stuck on her clothes.
At this moment, Herta walked in.
"What... are you doing?"
She had just entered and saw a mummy crawling on the bed, tremblingly raising a bandaged hand, groping something on March 7th.
While the Aeon Aha sat across from the bed, interestedly cutting steak, having drunk over half the bottle of red wine.
"Help! Abusing a patient! Help! Help mmp."
Stuffing a banana into the mummy's mouth, March 7th turned to explain:
"It's all this guy's fault—spat grape seeds all over my clothes!"
Herta nodded, not caring much:
"Oh, I just came to check on you. Asta isn't that angry anymore. Now just have Zeig kowtow a few times to her, and this matter is pretty much settled today."
Zeig: "?"
He swallowed an unpeeled banana in one gulp, shocked:
"No way—even like this, I still have to kowtow a few times to her? I've been helping her take care of General Peppy—why doesn't she kowtow a few to me?"
A few minutes later.
Asta stood by the hospital bed, nodded satisfied, and left.
On that hospital bed, a certain someone and General Peppy both crawled prone, looking very battered.
Across from the bed, Aha had opened two bottles of red wine and eaten several steaks.
March 7th advised earnestly beside them:
"Hear that? No more leading Peppy astray, or we'll have to do this again."
The mummy flipped over, lying supine on the bed, hugging the similarly bandaged General Peppy into his arms.
"Heh, hilarious."
March 7th: "..."
While the mummy adhered to the mentality of admitting mistakes verbally but daring to do it again next time.
In his consciousness space, a long-absent electronic voice sounded.
[Detected sufficient slacking experience for host. Upgrade Stellaron?]
"Hm?"
He directly thought 'yes'.
Immediately after, Zeig felt a powerful force suddenly flowing through his meridians into his whole body.
Making him feel refreshed instantly—no need for bandages anymore.
"Bang!" He leaped up fiercely.
March 7th and Peppy: "???"
The mummy landed steadily on the table, shattering the plaster on his foot with one stomp.
"Bang—!!"
The Aeon of Elation watching couldn't help wiping the plaster dust off his face, looking up at the mummy who had suddenly landed on his table.
He pointed at his own head, helplessly saying to Zeig:
"...You should still go get checked. No rush to discharge."
…